PayPal and Venmo to Support Solana and Chainlink Transfers Amid Growing Crypto Demand
Luisa Crawford Apr 05, 2025 11:53
PayPal and Venmo will soon support Solana (SOL) and Chainlink (LINK) for U.S. users, expanding their crypto offerings to seven tokens.
PayPal Holdings Inc. has announced plans to expand its cryptocurrency offerings by adding support for Solana (SOL) and Chainlink (LINK), further deepening its presence in the digital asset space. The rollout, which will also apply to Venmo users, is set to begin in the coming weeks and is limited to users in the United States.
The move comes in response to increased consumer demand for broader access to digital assets, according to May Zabaneh, an executive with PayPal’s crypto and blockchain division.
“Offering more tokens on PayPal and Venmo provides users with greater flexibility, choice, and access to digital currencies,” Zabaneh said in a company statement.
Platform Reach and User Impact
PayPal, which reported approximately 428 million active accounts globally as of December 2024, currently restricts its crypto services to U.S.-based users. Its mobile payment subsidiary, Venmo, counted 83 million users in 2023 who made at least one transaction on the platform.
The addition of SOL and LINK brings PayPal’s total number of supported cryptocurrencies in the U.S. to seven, including its own U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD).
PayPal’s Stablecoin Strategy
PayPal launched PYUSD in 2023, marking a significant milestone in its crypto strategy. The stablecoin reached a peak market capitalization of over $1 billion in August 2024, though its circulating supply has since declined to around $760 million, according to industry data from DefiLlama.
To demonstrate PYUSD’s real-world utility, PayPal disclosed that it used the stablecoin to settle an invoice with Ernst & Young in October 2024.
“The enterprise environment is very well-suited for stablecoin payments,” said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal’s Senior Vice President of Blockchain.
Despite PYUSD’s smaller footprint compared to market leaders USDT and USDC, industry leaders view PayPal’s involvement as a catalyst for broader adoption. Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron credited firms like PayPal and Stripe for helping bridge the gap between traditional finance and blockchain.
Ongoing Crypto Expansion
The latest update reflects PayPal’s continued efforts to provide users with diversified crypto options, even as regulatory discussions around digital assets evolve in the U.S. market. The inclusion of Solana and Chainlink—two widely used crypto assets with strong developer communities—signals PayPal’s intent to align with user preferences and emerging blockchain technologies.
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